Posts from Jams & Preserved Foods

After you've dug the last spear out of the pickle jar, you can either pour the pickle juice down the drain and bid it adieu, or you can save and repurpose it into something useful or tasty. Don't waste that flavorful liquid - here are some great ways to give it new life!

We moved on from bottled salad dressing in my house to our own homemade versions years ago, but for some reason, BBQ sauce still came from the store. And there's no reason for that when it's so easy to make it from scratch. Here's the sweet, tangy, smoky sauce I've worked on and tweaked over the past few months. I'm finally happy enough with it to make it worth sharing!

It's rhubarb season and no doubt everyone is making pie! But there are many other things that you can do with rhubarb: relishes and chutneys and compotes, sauces both sweet and savory, ice cream and sorbets. The list is endless, but one of my favorite things to make when rhubarb is plentiful is rhubarb syrup.

Q: How do I make a small batch of kimchi, enough to eat over two or three days? I have tried to make a small batch before and it ended up way too salty. I have tried several times with not much success. I am klutz in the kitchen. Can anyone help?

I've been making my own yogurt for a few years now and I don't think I'll ever go back. Not only does it actually save me some grocery money, but this homemade yogurt is seriously good. I'm eating more yogurt now than ever before.

The method I've adopted is very basic — no special heirloom yogurt cultures or fancy incubating equipment required. You could even make a batch tonight and have homemade yogurt for breakfast by tomorrow morning!

There's really no arguing that it's ugly. And kind of alien-looking. And yeah, even downright gross. But dang it! Scobys make some delicious kombucha! If you want to save a few bucks on your 'booch habit, there's just no getting around it. You're going to need a scoby.

You can beg a scoby from a kombucha-brewing friend, or you can order a fresh one online. But there's one more option: you can grow your own.

I fished a few cherries out of the jars of DIY Maraschino cherries I have steeping in the fridge so you can see how they're doing. These babies are getting better and better — but they're still not quite what I had in mind!

If you like store-bought tempeh, just wait until you try fresh nutty-tasting homemade tempeh. You might never go back! Plus, when you make it yourself, you can go way beyond soybeans and customize your tempeh with whatever kinds of legumes and grains you want.

To make tempeh at home, you just need some beans, a spoonful of tempeh starter, and a warm spot in your house. Today we'll walk you through each step of the process, from preparing the beans to cooking it for dinner.